What Is The Theme Of Juxtaposition In Dante's Inferno

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There is a balance in life between actions and consequences. Literary devices in The Devine Comedy help in the development of themes in the Novel. Dante Alighieri’s book tries to convey the message of karma. The use of plot, conflict, imagery, juxtaposition, and motif reveal themes of justification and punishment in Dante’s Inferno.
The plot of The Inferno sets up the road for sinners and their respective crimes. The setting and course of the novel optimize the revelation of theme. There is no better place to go to see punishments. Hell is a final destination for people to pay for their poor decisions on earth. Dante the character has a chance to see a universe full of suffering that no one else can see. Dante the author gets to create a world …show more content…

In the jury system of the United States, crimes are punished in different ways. A thief might be sentenced to a year of prison for stealing, while a murderer could be sentenced to life in prison. The reason the murderer is sentenced to more time in jail is because the crime he committed is more severe than the crime that the thief committed. The same applies in Dante’s Inferno, he separated sins into nine different circles. The higher the circle level is, the more severe the crime and punishment are. These nine circles help reveal the themes justification. When comparing the punishments between sinners, there is a clear distinction on which discipline is worse. This juxtaposition unveils that crimes are punished based on their severity because one punishment is worse than the other. In the seventh circle of Hell, Dante and his guide, Virgil, encounter two types of sinners: the wrathful and the sullen. As Dante passes by he is able to “make out muddied people in that slime, all naked and their faces furious.” Dante continues to study the wrathful sinners noting that they “struck each other not with hands alone, but with their teeth” (Alighieri 7). The way the author describes the scene shows why these sinners’ punishment is worse than the previous seven circles of Hell. The wrathful wanted to be angry and provocative on earth, so now they are fighting for the rest of eternity. The sullen were gloomy and hostile on earth, so they are now trapped below the surface of a river of slime with no happiness surrounding them. Justification will always exist because there are several forms of sin and they are continually punished in many

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